Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has granted bail to Ezekiel Onyedikachi a.k.a. Eezeetee, a music producer and former manager of gospel artist Mercy Chinwo, to the tune of N20 million over alleged forex fraud.
The bail was in connection with a fresh $255,000 alleged forex transaction fraud filed against Eezeetee by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a brief ruling on Friday, Justice Aneke specified that the bail condition must be met within 72 hours with one surety residing in Lagos who owns property equivalent to the bail amount.
The judge, who had previously released EeZeeTee to his lawyer, Ojukwu Chikaosolu, emphasised the necessity of adhering to the bail terms.
The EFCC had initially filed a 14-count charge against EeZeeTee for alleged fraudulent conversion.
Later they amended the charges to seven counts, accusing EeZeeTee of conducting foreign exchange transactions without proper authorisation.
Prosecuting counsel, Bilikisu Buhari-Bala informed the court that in June 2023, EeZeeTee allegedly negotiated a foreign exchange transaction worth $52,895 with one Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke without approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the prosecution, the act contravenes Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap F34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, punishable under Section 29(2) of the same law.
EeZeeTee pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the case has been adjourned to June 20, 2025 for trial.
